


5 Times The Lonely Hit King Falls, And 1 Time It Didn't

by astral_dreams



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast), The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Typical fog (for tma), Depression, Derealization, Isolation, Spoilers for up to ep 100 for kfam, Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Thoughts, The Lonely - Freeform, a lot of fog, even if it is vague, first chapter is all hurt no comfort, im just lazy so you get two chapters, second chapter is all comfort, this is a 5 + 1 fic, warnings for the lonely
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25242892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astral_dreams/pseuds/astral_dreams
Summary: A 5 and 1 exploring how the Lonely affects different characters of King Falls
Relationships: Ben Arnold/Emily Potter, Sammy Stevens/Jack Wright
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	5 Times The Lonely Hit King Falls, And 1 Time It Didn't

**Author's Note:**

> So please do heed the warnings when reading this. It deals with the Lonely pretty heavy (for kfam fans, its basically an entity related to loneliness and often makes people affected by it feel isolated and like noone loves them). Take care of yourselves and don't read if you think you can't handle it.
> 
> All the warnings are in the tags!
> 
> also for a bit of explanation for the scenes: sammy has continued lonely experience and the only really concrete scene is from 75, ben falls into the lonely right after emily gets back, emily is in what i believe the white rooms are like right before she gets saved, lily is walking along the road during That scene, and jack is in the void and it ends at the call with sammy.

**1.**

The fog had come back.

Sammy had seen fog before, you could often find it rolling across the streets of their mountain town. It would come in large clouds, covering the streets like a blanket. It was cool when you walked through it and often provided a sense of comfort when the weather was right. But this wasn’t that kind of fog. This was the kind that filled you with a certain dread, and would always be there no matter how alone you felt.

But despite its always being there, Sammy had never seen it inside before. And yet, the past few weeks it had seemed to follow him.  _ Everywhere. _

It started off small, with wisps clinging to his clothes, his face, his fingers. Sammy started taking to wearing longer sleeves, hoodies mainly, because he could never quite escape the chill he felt down to his bones. His hair would be moist from a condensation not able to be explained from humid air, which was nonexistent in this type of weather. A little puff started to become visible when he breathed, like the air around him was becoming cold.

It was the middle of spring.

Sammy knew it was getting worse when it became harder to hear the callers over the phone, they were muffled and made him strain to even grasp the few words he could understand. Even Ben’s constant chatter seemed distant and was starting to fail at breaking him out of his very long bouts of silence as he tried to piece together what they were talking about. Ben was looking concerned and Sammy hated it.

_ He’s judging you. He thinks you’re weak. Can’t even get your own fiancee back and now everyone in town knows. _

The voice was not new, but it hadn’t been as consistent with its taunts and jeers for a long while. He had managed to keep it quiet for a long time, almost as long as he had been able to keep quiet about Jack. It had been contained, but now that  _ everybody _ knew and his feelings were out in the open so was the voice. And it was constant.

He could try all he wanted to remember that he wasn’t alone, he had friends and a community that loved him, but the voice would just fight back harder. He had that before, but yet he still left. They had all hated him, what was stopping it from happening again. All he had was Jack and he was gone. Had been for so long. Everyone else would just be hurt by him so he had to leave. Sammy was tempted to let the fog consume him again, just like it had when he had left the first time.

But Sammy was sick of being lonely. It hurt him and a part of him did crave it, but the one thing that hurt more than the loneliness was being without  _ him _ . 

So here he stood. Ready to be rid of the fog, and finally be with him again.

**2.**

Ben was cold. 

He supposed that was what happened when you stayed overnight at your radio station, but this felt unnatural. Yet Ben couldn’t feel the need to move from his chair, as uncomfortable as it was. He had been working overtime, trying to fill his time with meaningless tasks. He had reorganized both the digital and physical libraries and their backups seven times in the past two weeks, had cleaned Chet’s couch so much the smell had lessened significantly and had redone all the labels for almost  _ everything _ in the  station.

Yet the emptiness he felt had not gone away. His phone was locked in his office so he couldn’t think about  _ her _ and about the fact that he would’ve been usually talking with her at this time of night. That would’ve meant he missed her and that was ridiculous. She was happy and he would respect that. No matter how much he wanted to be with her…

A shiver ran through Ben. The air around him was getting colder. He had been stupid enough to wear short sleeves today and it just made him want to huddle further into himself. 

There was no more work to be done. Oh well, at least he could sit here until Sammy came in for their show. That was soon, right? It had to be soon. Ben had been here a while and Sammy was only here a bit before they started. He could go check the time on his phone, he had a phone, right?

Yes! He did! It was in his office. All he had to do was go get it. But that would mean he could call  _ her _ . But why would he? She doesn’t need him, she never did. From him all she would’ve gotten was a clingy boyfriend who couldn’t get over his feelings enough to let her do her own thing. 

Ben could start to feel tears rolling down his face, only to have them blown away by the fog now surrounding him. 

Fog? When had fog gotten in the station? Hm. Must’ve come through through an open window, most likely thanks to Sammy. Why would Sammy have opened a window? Or more importantly, when? Sammy hadn’t been here since last night’s show, not that he would care to stay. Why would he? That would mean hanging around Ben and there’s no doubt that’s the last thing Sammy would want to do.

Ben sighed. He ruined everything, didn’t he? His friends all hated him, they had to, why would they like somebody like him? They had no reason to. Emily was mad at him and Greg had stolen her away. Troy and Sammy were concerned, but it was obviously fake. All Ben could do was sit here, cry, and try to ignore the calls of his name his mind kept conjuring up.

No one would want to find him after all.

**3.**

Emily didn’t know where she was.

This wasn’t strange, more like a fact. She had been staring at the same white walls for the past while, straining her ears for any sign of life. It never helped the feeling go away, but it made her feel better. More prepared. For what she didn’t know. If no one had wanted to come to her by now, when they did she knew it wasn’t going to be for a good  reason. So she needed to be prepared.

Taking stock of the room for the thousandth time, her breath calmed a little. Nothing had been moved, which meant no one had been here while she slept. While she felt a pang at the notion that she had gone another assumed day without anyone, she also felt relief. Who knows what someone would have done if they did come.

Running her hand against the wall was an almost daily ritual. She would just walk around the room a few times and let herself get lost in the feel of the grainy flatness under her hand. She does the same for the cold steel of her table bed, finding that repeating these small things brings a small amount of control to her life. 

How long had she been here? In this room that never changed, with a completely monotone day to day. What is the definition of insanity if not doing the same thing over and over expecting different results? So why was she here, doing that very thing?

_ Because no one cared enough to look for you, _ the voice in her head reminded her,  _ Because if someone actually cared enough about you someone would’ve found you already. It can’t be that hard, right?  _

Emily barely noticed her breathing getting quicker as she remembered how scared Ben had been when she got taken. Some days it was the only thing keeping her going, to get back to him, but today was not one of those days. Today was one of the days where all she could think about was if he even cared anymore.

She was shaken out of her thoughts as the room around her began to shake. This had happened before, once or twice, but there was obviously something wrong. She thought she could hear voices outside before the room started twisting and turning violently. The last thing she remembered was thinking of Ben one last time as an explosion sounded somewhere outside.

She really was going to die alone. Wasn’t she?

**4.**

The night was dark and the road was long. Lily had no clue how long she had been walking, her uneven steps only interrupted by a simp from her slowly dwindling bottle. The forest around her was all blended together, a dark mesh of green and brown. There was a wind chill she could feel to her bones.

She hated it.

It had been just another night, sitting in her hotel room and wishing for everything to both go away and come back. For her show to be back, for  _ Jack _ to be back. For her bad luck to go away. For something… 

Something that wouldn’t come.

So she decided she would go to it. She put on her shoes, grabbed a bottle and started walking. Lily doesn’t know where she’s going, supposes it doesn’t matter. The fog has clouded the road so much that she can barely see in front of her. She doesn’t remember the fog getting there, but she can’t remember much of anything right now. All she knows is anger at the world, and at herself. But even the anger fades away. Why is she angry? Who would really care if she was angry?

She didn’t know.

She didn’t want to know.

Because the people who would have cared if she were angry were either gone or distant. She didn’t have anyone anymore, and that was the worst part about this. She was  _ alone. _

She had never been alone. Not really. She had always had someone. Jack was the first one, a constant, laughing and smiling and charming his way through life. They had grown up together and they had dealt with each other’s bullshit long enough that they just  _ fit _ . Even back in school, when Jack had always seemed to be the more personable one, Lily had somewhat of a friend group. They were nice and they played with her, and sometimes she even felt included. She was the loudmouth, the one with the attitude, and honestly? She was glad. 

Lily didn’t want to know where she would be without her passion, without her drive. She would’ve probably given up on her dreams before she even reached college. She would’ve faded into the background and watch bitterly as Jack took the spotlight. Instead, they took that spot together, which she was incredibly glad for. And after that, even though she lost most of her friends, she made new ones. Better ones. Or so she thought.

A second flash of anger rolled over her as her thoughts drifted to Sammy. Sammy ‘Shotgun’ Stevens. The man who went from her intern to her friend to someone who took her brother and disappeared into the night. Except only to show up in the small ass town she was looking into for her podcast. Now only going by Sammy and only using the anger she knows all too well for her. It’s been a long time since she got to speak with him and they only traverse back through their old beaten down arguments except this time it hurts even more because they’re all about  _ Jack. _

But of course Sammy doesn’t care about  _ her _ . He cares about Jack, his apparent  _ boyfriend _ , and was only using her as some twisted hope for getting him back. Like Lily could magically bring Jack back. But news flash: she can’t. As much as she desperately wishes she could. 

But no, Lily was alone. And it was cold. And dark. And the only thing she could do was keep walking as her thoughts danced and swirled to the tunes of distant police sirens.

**5.**

It was cold and often that was the only thing Jack could know.

That’s how it went here, wherever here was. You would exist and that was it. There was no light here to see with, no need to eat or sleep, and no one else except you. And that’s how it would be for who knows how long until  _ he  _ showed up and made you wish you could go back to just existing.

The pain was never worth it.

The void kept your memory foggy, everything you treasured just out of reach. But it was still there. You could see the ones you loved and often you wouldn’t be able to remember anything except for the fact that they were  _ there _ and you were not. Sometimes you could remember their names, but then that would be taken away from you by the shadows that were all around you. They would take everything and only use it to further the pain they caused everyone else. And there was nothing you could do to stop them.

All Jack could do was float, and float, and float. All on his lonesome, trying not to think about how  _ cold _ he was and how much he missed… whatever his name was.

He missed him so bad, and he couldn’t even remember who he was. It was a physical pain, yet it remained nameless.

Jack wanted to wonder why. To scream and to shout. But he couldn’t.

He knew why.

Everyone here did. If he wasn’t alone in the vast darkness. Everyone here knows that being  _ here _ meant you were alone. And nobody could help you.

So you keep floating. And wordlessly screaming. And existing. Knowing that you’ve been here for a long time, completely alone, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

God, Jack wished that wasn’t true. He wished he could be home with  _ him _ and everyone else that he cared for.

He really didn’t feel it when the shadows took his body and started to talk. What difference would it make for him in the long run?

  
  



End file.
